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The Telecom Digest
Sunday, April 2, 2023

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Copyright © 2023 E. William Horne. All Rights Reserved.
Volume 42 Table of Contents Issue 92
NZ: Spark mobile rage: Call outages and the phone hack to fix them
FCC Open Meeting Recap: March 2023 Part 1 (Podcast)
The FTC Outlines What It Sees As "The HIdden Impacts Of Pixel Tracking"
The FCC Puts The Arm On a Puerto Rico Landlord
Message-ID: <20230401121101.GA1901971@telecomdigest.us> Date: Sat, 1 Apr 2023 12:11:01 +0000 From: Bill Horne <malQRMassimilation@gmail.com> Subject: NZ: Spark mobile rage: Call outages and the phone hack to fix them NZ Herald 31 Mar, 2023 08:11 PM Many frustrated Spark mobile customers have been unable to make outbound calls since last night - and the company has offered up a phone hack on how to fix the problem. Reports of technical problems with Spark mobiles started early yesterday evening. Some customers experienced no ringtone, and others making calls to Spark mobiles reported hearing an engaged tone. But despite the company claiming the outbound call issue only arose last night, many Spark customers were also reporting an inability to make or recieve calls earlier this week. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/spark-mobile-rage-call-outages-and-the-phone-hack-to-fix-them/KGVP7ZJWZNCRVODR6LPWH4RYOI/
Moderator's Note
As I write this, it's 7:33 AM EDT in North Carolina, USA., and 12:33 PM in Aukland, New Zealand, on April 2nd, 2023. Aukland just changed back to Standard time and moved clocks back an hour, so they're about 13 hours ahead of "Zulu" time, and 17 ahead of EDT. There are two timezones in New Zealand, but assuming that the time stamp on this article is from Aukland, the "last night" mentioned in the article would have been around 2 AM on March 30th here in the Eastern time zone of the U.S.
- Bill Horne
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Message-ID: <20230330181904.GA1888908@telecomdigest.us> Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2023 18:19:04 +0000 From: Bill Horne <malQRMassimilation@gmail.com> Subject: FCC Open Meeting Recap: March 2023 Part 1 (Podcast) by Henry T. Kelly (New York) and Michael Dover (Los Angeles) On today's episode of Full Spectrum, Hank Kelly will be discussing the FCC's adopted order to block spam texts and another order intended to improve caller ID authentication. Second, special counsel Mike Dover will cover the FCC's issuance of a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking which proposes to expand audio description requirements. Listen to the full episode here: https://soundcloud.com/kelley-drye-full-spectrum/fcc-open-meeting-recap-march-2023-part-1?si=8d058d0d5a364e398ad605a445b0cf03&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing -- (Please remove QRM for direct replies)
Message-ID: <20230329112016.GA1878171@telecomdigest.us> Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2023 11:20:16 +0000 From: Bill Horne <malQRMassimilation@gmail.com> Subject: The FTC Outlines What It Sees As "The HIdden Impacts Of Pixel Tracking" by Colin J. Zick (Boston) In a very comprehensive post from the Federal Trade Commission's Office of Technology, the FTC takes what it calls "[a] deep dive into the technical side of FTC's recent cases on digital health platforms, GoodRx & BetterHelp." As most readers know, the FTC recently took enforcement action against GoodRx and BetterHelp, two digital healthcare platforms, for allegedly sharing user health data with third parties for advertising. Both cases highlighted the use of third-party tracking pixels, which enable platforms to amass, analyze, and infer information about user activity. The remedies in GoodRx and BetterHelp included bans that place limits on whether and how certain user information may be disclosed for advertising. For GoodRx and BetterHelp, this included a ban on the sharing of health information for any advertising purposes, and the BetterHelp order further bans the disclosure of other personal information for re-targeting. https://www.mondaq.com/article/news/1297742?q=1803232&n=740&tp=17&tlk=3&lk=85 -- (Please remove QRM for direct replies)
Message-ID: <20230402003706.GA1906300@telecomdigest.us> Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2023 00:37:06 +0000 From: Bill Horne <malQRMassimilation@gmail.com> Subject: The FCC Puts The Arm On a Puerto Rico Landlord NOTICE OF ILLEGAL PIRATE RADIO BROADCASTING Case Number: EB-FIELDSCR-22-00034240 ... Under section 511(a) of the Act, persons or entities found to willfully and knowingly suffer (i.e., permit) a third party to engage in so-called “pirate radio” broadcasting on their property can face significant financial penalties.5 Accordingly, you are hereby notified and warned that the FCC may issue a fine of up to $2,316,034 if, following the response period set forth below, we determine that you have continued to permit any individual or entity to engage in pirate radio broadcasting from the property that you own or manage. https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-392069A1.pdf
Moderator's Note
I had to read the amount shown above three times before I believed it. This dunning notice is so clearly an example of bureaucratic arrogance and overreach that I'm saddened to think it's even possible: if I understand it, the FCC appears to be demanding that the owner of a building take steps to stop a tenant, squatter, or transient from using a ten-watt FM transmitter to "broadcast" to local listeners - or face a fine that could range "up to" over Two Million dollars.

News flash, FCC: real estate agents have been putting more powerful transmitters into vacant homes for years, with pre-recorded anouncements about the selling points that the agents want visitors to remember while listening from their cars. Why don't you go after them, oh gov-a-mint minions?

Is it so much trouble to obtain a search and seizure warrant that our Federal employees feel that they are entitled to force innocent third parties to do their jobs for them?

- Bill Horne
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End of The Telecom Digest for Sun, 2 Apr, 2023
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